Weedless fishing jig with side-to-side action

Abstract

A jig-type fishing lure which simulates the movement of live bait and functions as a weedless fishing lure. The fishing lure includes a typical jig head having a molded head, a hook member, and an attachment eye. A pair of spring arms are attached to the molded head such that the spring arms extend upwardly and outwardly from the molded head and intersect one another. The spring arms contact the bottom of a lake or river to simulate the movement of live bait. Upon contacting a weed, the pair of spring arms deflect to prevent the weed from becoming entangled in the barb of the hook member.

I claim: 
     
       1. A fishing lure comprising: a hook member having a shank and terminating in a hook portion extending laterally from the shank;   a head from which the shank extends, wherein the hook portion extends in a first direction relative to the head;   an attachment eye interconnected with the head to provide a point of connection to a fishing line; and   a pair of resilient spring arms extending outwardly from the head in opposite directions, each spring arm having a first end attached to the head and a second end extending in a second direction opposite the first direction and disposed below the head, wherein the spring arm second ends are located on either side of the head and the hook member.   
     
     
       2. The fishing lure of claim 1, wherein each spring arm extends upward from its first end to a point between its first and second ends which is at an elevation above the hook portion. 
     
     
       3. The fishing lure of claim 1, wherein the head is comprised of metal having a specific gravity greater than 1.0. 
     
     
       4. The fishing lure of claim 3, wherein the head is generally spherical in shape. 
     
     
       5. The fishing lure of claim 3, wherein the head includes a weight to position the center of gravity of the fishing lure forward of the attachment eye. 
     
     
       6. The fishing lure of claim 5, wherein the weight comprises a pair of metal members connected one on either side of the head. 
     
     
       7. The fishing lure of claim 1, wherein the second end of each spring arm engages the bottom of a body of water in which the fishing lure is being used, so as to resist movement of the fishing lure and to impart side-to-side action to the hook member upon movement of the fishing lure through the water. 
     
     
       8. The fishing lure of claim 1, wherein the head includes an outer wall surrounding an open interior. 
     
     
       9. The fishing lure of claim 8, wherein the open interior includes a ball, such that the ball can freely move within the open interior. 
     
     
       10. The fishing lure of claim 8, wherein the outer wall includes an inlet/outlet port providing communication between the open interior of the head and the exterior of the head. 
     
     
       11. The fishing lure of claim 1, wherein the head is formed from a pair of dissimilar materials. 
     
     
       12. A fishing lure comprising: a hook member having a shank and a hook portion;   a head from which the shank extends;   an attachment eye interconnected with the head to provide a point of connection to a fishing line; and   a pair of resilient spring arms extending outwardly from the head in opposite directions, each spring arm having a first end attached to the head and a second end disposed below the head, wherein the spring arm second ends are located on either side of the head and the hook member, wherein each spring arm extends upward from its first end to a point between its first and second ends which is at an elevation above the hook portion, and wherein the spring arms are configured to cross each other at a point of intersection located between the first and second end of each spring arm, said point of intersection being at an elevation above the hook portion.   
     
     
       13. The fishing lure of claim 12, wherein the spring arms are deflectable toward the hook portion upon contacting an object between the first and second ends, such that upon contact, the spring arms maintain the object out of contact with the hook portion. 
     
     
       14. A fishing lure comprising: a hook member having a shank and a hook portion;   a head from which the shank extends;   an attachment eye interconnected with the head to provide a point of connection to a fishing line; and   a pair of resilient spring arms extending outwardly from the head in opposite directions, each spring arm having a first end attached to the head and a second end disposed below the head, wherein the spring arm second ends are located on either side of the head and the hook member, wherein each spring arm extends upward from its first end to a point between its first and second ends which is at an elevation above the hook portion, and wherein the first end of a first of the spring arms is fixed to the head at an opposite side of the hook portion from the first end of a second one of the spring arms, and wherein the second end of each spring arm is located on the opposite side of the hook portion from the first end of the same spring arm.   
     
     
       15. A fishing lure comprising: a hook member having a shank and a hook portion;   a head from which the shank extends in a rearward direction;   an attachment eye interconnected with the head to provide a point of connection to a fishing line; and   a pair of resilient spring arms extending outwardly from the head in opposite directions, each spring arm having a first end attached to the head and a second end disposed below the head, wherein the spring arm second ends are located on either side of the head and the hook member, and wherein the second end of each spring arm is located forwardly of the first end.   
     
     
       16. A fishing lure comprising: a hook member having a shank and a hook portion;   a head from which the shank extends;   an attachment eye interconnected with the head to provide a point of connection to a fishing line;   a pair of resilient spring arms extending outwardly from the head in opposite directions, each spring arm having a first end attached to the head and a second end disposed below the head, wherein the spring arm second ends are located on either side of the head and the hook member; and   a float positioned on the second end of each spring arm.   
     
     
       17. The fishing lure of claim 16, wherein the float has a specific gravity less than 1.0. 
     
     
       18. A fishing lure comprising: a hook member extending along a longitudinal axis and having a shank and a hook portion;   a head mounted to the shank at an end opposite the hook portion;   an attachment eye positioned on the head for providing a point of connection to a fishing line; and   a pair of resilient spring arms positioned transverse to the longitudinal axis of the hook member, each spring arm having a first and a second end, the first end of each spring arm being attached to the head and each spring arm terminating at its second end;   wherein each spring arm extends upward from its first end to a height above the hook portion and wherein the spring arms intersect at a point between their first and second ends above the hook portion.   
     
     
       19. The fishing lure of claim 18, wherein the second end of each spring arm is disposed below the head, such that the second end engages the bottom of a body of water in which the fishing lure is being used. 
     
     
       20. The fishing lure of claim 19, wherein each of the spring arms is configured such that the second end of each spring arm is positioned forward from the first end to provide a bias against forward movement of the fishing lure when the spring arm second ends are engaged with a surface, such that when the fishing lure is moved forward, each spring arm tends to resist such movement. 
     
     
       21. The fishing lure of claim 18, wherein the spring arms are rearwardly deflectable such that when the spring arms contact an object between their first and second ends, the spring arms direct the object away from the hook portion of the hook member. 
     
     
       22. The fishing lure of claim 18, further comprising a pair of weights joined to the head, whereby the weights locate the center of gravity of the fishing lure forward of the attachment eye. 
     
     
       23. The fishing lure of claim 18, wherein the head is substantially spherical in shape and the attachment eye is positioned along a generally vertical axis passing through the center of the spherical head. 
     
     
       24. A fishing lure comprising: a hook member extending along a longitudinal axis having a shank and a hook portion;   a head mounted to the shank at an end opposite the hook portion;   an attachment eye positioned on the head for providing a point of connection to a fishing line; and   a pair of resilient spring arms positioned transverse to the longitudinal axis of the hook member, each spring arm having a first and a second end, the first end of each spring arm being attached to the head and terminating at the second end, the second end of each spring arm extending below the head to engage the bottom of the body of water in which the fishing lure is being used, the resilient spring arms thereby resisting forward movement of the fishing lure, said spring arms intersecting at a point between the first and second end of each spring arm, said point of intersection being above the height of the hook portion such that upon contacting an object, the spring arms deflect rearward to direct the object away from the hook portion on the hook member.   
     
     
       25. In a fishing lure including a head having an attachment eye and a hook extending rearwardly from the head and terminating in a forwardly extending hook end which is located rearwardly of the head and at an elevation above that of the head, the improvement comprising resilient deflector structure mounted to the head and extending upwardly therefrom to an elevation above that of the hook end, wherein the resilient deflector structure is spaced forwardly of the hook end and is bendable toward the hook end when the resilient deflector structure strikes an object during forward movement of the lure to prevent the object from contacting the hook end, wherein the resilient deflector structure comprises a pair of resilient spring arms extending outwardly from the head in opposite directions, each spring arm having a first end attached to the head and a second end disposed below the head, wherein the spring arm second ends are located on either side of the head and the hook end. 
     
     
       26. The improvement of claim 25, wherein the spring arms are configured to cross each other at a point of intersection located between the first and second end of each spring arm, said point of intersection being at an elevation above the hook end. 
     
     
       27. The improvement of claim 26, wherein the first end of a first one of the spring arms is fixed to the head at an opposite side of the hook end from the first end of a second one of the spring arms, and wherein the second end of each spring arm is located on the opposite side of the hook end from the first end of the same spring arm. 
     
     
       28. In a fishing lure including a head having an upper and an lower end, an attachment eye, and a hook extending axially from the head and terminating in a hook end, the improvement comprising a pair of resilient members interconnected with the head and extending upwardly and outwardly therefrom such that one resilient member is located on each side of a pair of opposite sides defined by the head, wherein each resilient member defines an uppermost point and extends downwardly therefrom, terminating in an outer end disposed below the lower end of the head and adapted to contact a surface to bias the head upwardly relative to the surface, wherein the resilient members are constructed and arranged to resist forward movement as the lure is pulled forwardly through the water to impart a side-to-side action to the hook member.